Middle Child Syndrome
by WrittenDistractions
Summary: Olivia is the sarcastic, slightly awkward, going-fast-to-nowhere middle child of the Gilbert family. After her parents pass away things in her hometown start to get strange.
1. Chapter 1

I wish I could say I woke up peacefully to the birds chirping and the smell of pancakes cooking, but unfortunately it was more like Jeremy's heavy metal music and the aroma of burnt toast courtesy of Aunt Jenna. I groaned angrily and tried to cover my ears with my pillow. This tactic was useless as my room was so conveniently placed right next to my fifteen year old brother's, who was going through such a wonderful faze at the moment. I rolled out of bed, mumbling unfriendly words to myself. I stumbled into the hallway and pounded ruthlessly on Jeremy's bedroom door.

"JER MUSIC OFF BED SLEEP!" I screamed obnoxiously. He ignored my banging and turned his music up louder. The door across the hall opened revealing my sister, Elena, with a murderous and unattractive look on her normally beautiful face. She marched over to Jeremy's bedroom door and continued badgering Jeremy in a more civilized manner.

"JEREMY GILBERT, YOU TURN THIS MUSIC DOWN RIGHT NOW! HAVE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE." Elena bellowed over the top of Jeremy's music. He either couldn't hear us or was choosing to ignore us.

"Ugh, I can't take it anymore," I groaned, accepting defeat and slumping down the stairs. I could still hear Elena yelling at Jeremy from upstairs as I sat across from Jenna at the kitchen table. A plate of slightly burnt toast sat in front of me.

"Morning sunshine," Jenna smiled wryly at me. I yawned unattractively and pointed at the toast.

"This," I began mid yawn, "Is an abomination!" I finished as I picked up a piece of it and began munching on it. Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Jeremy listens to such lovely tunes," She laughed, taking a sip of her coffee. Before I could answer Elena came stomping down the stairs miserably. Jenna laughed again.

"This has to stop," Elena complained, "I'm worried for him, he's been hanging out with some shady people lately and now he's listening to headbanger music? What if he's still doing drugs?"

"I don't care what the excuse he comes up with is, he is going to school today." Jenna said, attempting to put forth some authority. My stomach turned.

"Shit," I moaned, slapping my hand against my face, "I forgot all about _school_." I said the word with disgust.

"Olivia, don't be such a drama queen," Jenna teased, "I'm sure you have to be excited to see your friends." Although Jenna thought she was helping, seeing my friends was what I was most nervous about. I hadn't seen them since my parents died, and I hadn't returned any of their calls. Elena seemed to know what I was thinking and gave me an understanding look.

It was almost 7. I shoved the last bit of burnt toast in my mouth and took a gulp of chocolate milk before heading back upstairs to get ready for school. I threw on the outfit I had picked out last night, a pair of jeans, a grey t-shirt, and red flannel. I put on my favorite necklace, an old birthday gift from my father, a small ruby ready heart on a thin chain. I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth and hair. I yanked a brush through my wavy blond hair, grimacing at the number of tangles that had appeared in my sleep.

I attempted to cover the bags under my eyes with my foundation makeup. I smirked at myself, well Oliva time to face the music. My bright green eyes widened as Jeremy pounded on the door.

"Liv," He began irritably, "I still gotta brush my teeth, so can you hurry it up?" I sighed and opened the door to let my little brother in. I loved Jeremy, I really did. But man, the kid could really piss me off. I could tell he was even more nervous than I was to go back to school.

"It'll be alright Jer," I sighed, reaching up to pat his shoulder. "It'll get easier after today," I half expected him to push me off or scowl at me, but he nodded.

"I really hope so."

Soon we were herded out the door by Jenna, already late. "Are you sure you guys don't want a ride?" She yelled as we hopped into Elena's car.

"We're fine Jenna!" Elena and I yelled in unison. Jeremy sat quietly in the back, already with his headphones in listening to music sullenly. Elena glanced at him worriedly, before driving in the direction of Mystic Falls High School.

I had never been one that desired to slide under the radar, going unnoticed. I was witty, fun, and had a decent group of friends. I always seemed to be able to pull some good grades. I was a sophomore in high school. I was popular among my group of friends, and was well enough liked throughout the school. Of course, I've never been Elena popular. She was a year older than me and was a cheerleader, everyone wanted to be her best friend. I guess I've always been sort of jealous of how many guys seemed to chase after her and how people would practically plead to be her friend.

I stood nervously at my locker, waiting to get the awkward confrontation from one of my friends about not returning their calls. I didn't have to wait long.

"Well, well, well," I heard a familiar voice tsk, "If it isn't the beautiful Olivia Gilbert!" I turned around, not able to help the growing smile on my face.

"Look at you, Simon Fell, looking as fabulous as always!" I was pulled into a big hug by my best friend. Simon had dirty blond hair, fashionably styled and kind blue eyes. Simon grinned at me cheekily.

"It's good to have you back, Livy." He said as the bell rang, "We'll catch up later," he promised. I nodded, relieved he didn't bring up my disappearance among our friends lately.

"The Grill after school?" I called after him.

"It's a date," Simon winked at me. I laughed, shaking my head. I missed Simon, and I missed our best friend talks and our teasing banter. Suddenly Elena rounded the corner of the hallway, charging at me with not the most pleasant of facial expressions.

"So," She gritted her teeth, "I just followed our brother into men's bathroom, because I had a suspicion he was doing drugs," my eyes widened, Elena could sometime be psychotic, "and I was right!" She exclaimed. I shook my head, shocked. I mean it was common knowledge Jeremy smoked pot. But you'd think he'd be smart enough not to do it in the school bathroom. On our first day back at school. "Ugh," Elena said, "I have to get to class. We need to have an intervention with Jer tonight."

I nodded, "Agreed." Elena walked away, pulling her phone out to text Jenna, I assumed. I walked into my first class of the day, ignoring the stares from my peers, I sat down at a desk in the back, hoping not to receive as much attention. I notice one of my good friends, Kira Bennett sit down in the front row, she didn't notice me hiding in the back. I also saw my ex boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood take the seat next to her. He unfortunately did notice me, doing a double take. There was an awkward ten seconds of eye contact before he turned away, a blank expression on his face. I let out the breath I had been holding during our staring contest.

Mrs. Kelly, our teacher, waltzed into the room. I had always thought she resembled a bird. She began writing on the whiteboard the homework for tonight and then started to read role call. I held my breath until my name was called. "Olivia Gilbert,"

"Here," I said with a shaky voice, causing the room to turn and stare at me. Mrs. Kelly slid her glasses up her long nose to get a better look at me.

"Welcome back, Ms. Gilbert." She said. I nodded sheepishly, this time making eye contact with Kira. She stared at me for a moment with wide eyes and mouthed "Talk after class?" I nodded, and smiled back at her. She smiled back curiously.

After class I met Kira at her locker, we hugged and she agreed to meet me and Simon at the grill tonight. "It'll be just like old times," She smiled at me kindly, "I can't wait to catch up."

"Me too," I agreed, genuinely happy that my friends had been so understanding today.

When the day was over, I couldn't be more relieved. I decided to walk from school to the Mystic Grill. First, I wanted to stop in my favorite thinking spot, and read. It was something I always used to do after school.

It was a little bit of trek into the woods, but it was so worth it. I finally came to a large pond with a log that was perfect for sitting on. I sat down and let out a deep breath. It was beautiful. I smiled as a couple of ducks swam past. I was digging through my bag, trying to decide if I was in the mood for an oldly but a goody (The Great Gatsby), an all time favorite (Harry Potter), or a book recommended to me by Kira (The Fault in our Stars), when a voice came from behind me.

"I'd go with Harry Potter, Gatsby is overrated and I've never heard of the other one." I jumped off the log stumbling a bit.

"What the Hell!" I exclaimed, clutching my chest. The stranger behind me smirked. I blushed as I noticed how attractive he was. He looked like he was in his early twenties and had the most piercing electric blue eyes I had ever seen.

"Well you're kind of in my spot." He shrugged, ignoring my flustered appearance. The smirk was still firmly on his face. I noticed him check me out. I cleared my throat.

"Actually, new guy," I frowned, "This is my spot." He laughed, a bit condescendingly.

"I can guarantee you, that this spot has been mine a lot longer than it's been yours." I narrowed my eyes.

"Listen dude, I know you're new to town. This place is so small and boring that everybody knows everybody. I think I would have ran into here at MY spot before if that were the case." The attractive man looked amused at my sudden attitude. I started to get a feeling in the pit of my stomach that something was off about him. I may be feisty, but I'm not stupid. I was alone in the middle of the woods with a strange man who kept eyeing me in a way that made me uncomfortable.

The situation just screamed "run".

"So uh, nice to meet you," I said grabbing my backpack, "Maybe I'll consider sharing my secret spot with you," I laughed nervously, my hands started shaking a little. This did not go unnoticed by the stranger. He took a few steps forward until he was chest to chest with me.

"Is something wrong?" He cocked an eyebrow at me, still smirking. I narrowed my eyes and tried to push him away from me.

"I'd appreciate if you'd backup a little," He caught my hand as I was about to push it against his chest.

"What's your name," He peered into my eyes. I stared right back at him, my fear replaced by my attitude again. Damn my sassiness.

"Olivia Gilbert." I returned with a smirk of my own.

"Hmm, Gilbert." He repeated curiously, "Do you happen to have a sister named Elena?" I rolled my eyes for the sake of being scared of this guy earlier. He was just another guy trapped under my sister's spell.

"Yeah." I sighed, trying to walk away from this guy but he reached out and grabbed my wrist. I tried to yank it away but his grip was strong. The bad vibe I had gotten from him earlier was back. He looked into my eyes again.

"You're going to forget that you met me, Olivia." He spoke to me as if trying to hypnotize me. I frowned, but before I could respond to him he disappeared in an instant.

I dropped back onto the log in shock. What the Hell just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys, I wrote a bit more. Please keep giving me your feedback so I know whether or not to continue writing this. :) Thank you to the few of you who did review, and whoever followed or favorited my story. I really appreciate it. Any of your suggestions or critical opinions about the story, feel free to tell me in a review!**

I walked into the grill, still dazed about my encounter with the strange man in the woods. Simon was giving me the devil's eye for being late.

"I can explain!" I insisted to Simon.

"Girl, we have been waiting here for an hour!" He snapped sassily. Kira gave him a look.

"Give the woman a chance to explain," She laughed, shaking her head. I sat down next to Kira in the booth they had claimed.

"I ran into a tall, dark, and mysterious stranger in the woods," I said warily. Simon cocked his eyebrow at me.

"I like this story so far," He pursued. Kira and I rolled our eyes at each other.

"Wait," Kira raised her eyebrows at me, "What were you doing alone in the woods with a strange man?"

"I was trying to read after a stressful day at school," I exclaimed, "and before I knew it I was being harassed by some weird, rude, sexy, godlike creature," I decided to leave out the part about him trying to hypnotize me and then disappearing at the speed of light.

"Sounds like one of my dreams," Simon waggled his eyebrows, grinning at me. I scoffed at him.

"So much for being mad at me for being late."

"Being late because of a hookup is forgivable!"

"I didn't hook up with him," I groaned, "He gave me a serial killer vibe."

"Sounds like Simon's type," Kira grinned, Simon just nodded in agreement.

"I like me a bad boy."

"Did I mention he asked me about Elena?" I chirped in, rolling my eyes.

Speak of the devil, Elena and Kira's cousin, Bonnie, also Elena's best friend, entered the Grill.

"Man stealer," Simon murmured under his breath, causing Kira to snort into her soda. Trailing behind Elena was another mystery man. My eyes widened, he was quite good looking. I'd never seen him before. What was with these attractive strangers showing up all of a sudden. I watched pitifully as our family friend, and Elena's ex boyfriend, Matt Donovan stared at her sadly. Poor Matt. He still loved Elena, it was obvious. But she had broken up with him after the accident.

"Oh my," Simon stared openly at Elena's new "friend". "Why does she get them all," He sighed.

"I've been asking myself that for years, my friend." I patted his hand sadly.

"Hey kids," Bonnie grinned at us, I smiled back at her.

"What's up Bon?" Bonnie and Kira look so much alike. They could be sisters. However, Kira was taller than Bonnie and her hair was so curly that it naturally formed into ringlets.

"Nothing much, just got done with cheerleading practice." Her and Elena shared a look.

"What's with the attitudes, ladies?" I asked curiously. Elena sighed.

"Caroline was more irritating than usual today," Bonnie smirked, referring to the other member of their friendship trio. Elena nodded in agreement.

"She made me stand in the back because I was a little behind on the cheers," Elena muttered.

"Ugh, Caroline Forbes, I can't." Simon stated, shaking his head. "She is the reason I quit the cheer squad."

"We could really use you back on the team, Simon." Bonnie suggested, "Nobody can quite hit that back handspring like you do."

"Well yeah," Simon agreed, enjoying the praise, "But I cannot deal with Caroline being captain. Why couldn't it be one of you guys?" Simon and Caroline had always had a rivalry, wanting to be the center of attention on the cheer squad. It was actually quite hilarious.

I tried to talk to Elena telepathically to get her to introduce her friend to us, but she didn't understand any of my signals so I took matters into my own hands.

"Who's your new friend, Elena?" I asked bluntly. Before she could respond the new guy reached out to shake my hand.

"I'm Stefan, Stefan Salvatore." He smiled at me kindly.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Elena's sister Olivia." I said in reply. As he turned away I gave Kira and Simon a sharp look, as they were openly drooling over Stefan.

"What a nice name," Kira whispered, mesmerized to Simon, who looked like he had just died and went to heaven. Stefan smiled to himself, as if he had heard Kira's remark, making her blush instantly. I bit my tongue to stop myself from laughing at my friends.

"Stefan's new in town," Elena said, smiling at him. He smiled back at her, a little nervously. I was glad my sisters new crush seemed friendly. Suddenly Caroline approached us, smiling broadly. Simon let out a few cuss words under his breath.

"So Stefan," Caroline doesn't even bother with small talk, "Are you going to the party tomorrow night?" Stefan seemed a little shocked at the proposal.

"Are you going?" He asked Elena, causing Caroline's enthusiastic smile to fall into a grimace. Simon snorted softly.

"Of course she is," Bonnie answered for Elena. Caroline looked disappointed for a second but covered up the awkward moment by inviting Bonnie, myself, and Kira.

"And I guess you can come," She muttered to Simon, who shot daggers out his eyes at her. It was tomorrow night. Ugh, I didn't want to go to party. The old me would have sprung at the opportunity. To my surprise Elena was also looking a little uneasy about the whole party thing. I caught her eye, and then looked between her and Stefan, wiggling my eyebrows. She rolled her eyes at me, but she was smiling lightly.

Something across the grill caught my eye. It was Tyler Lockwood with his tongue down Matt's older sister Vicki Donovan's throat. Last I knew, much to mine and Elena's displeasure, Vicki had a thing with Jeremy. She was a bad influence on him, but every time we brought this up to Jeremy he would become defensive and angry.

"When did that happen?" I asked Elena. She followed my line of gaze and opened her mouth to reply, but Caroline beat her to it.

"Why?" Caroline teased me, "Do you still like him?" I scoffed at her

"No chance."

"Mhm, sure." Caroline replied. The truth of the matter was, Tyler and I had broken up because he cheated on me. After my parents died. So no, there was no way in hell that I had any feelings for him besides blatant dislike.

"Forbes, can you go find someone else to annoy," Simon huffed at her. Caroline glared at him.

"Can you stop talking to me, Fell." She responded back irritably. Luckily Elena called to Caroline from across the grill to come sit with her, Stefan, Bonnie, and Matt.

Soon ten thirty rolled around, which was my designated curfew on school nights from Jenna. Jeremy's was ten and Elena's was eleven. So I said goodbye to my friends. I was so glad that they had hung out with me today. I actually had fun, and it reminded me of old times, when I was happy.

"Let's do this again soon," Kira called after me as I left. I smiled back at her.

"Definitely!"

When I got home Jenna was sitting at the table, eating a peanut butter sandwich. Basically the only thing she could make and not burn.

"Hey Liv, how was school?" Jenna asked. I gave her the thumbs up and headed up the stairs, It had been a long day and I was ready to head to bed.

"Night Jenna!" I called.

"Night kiddo!" She yelled back.

I flopped into bed and was out cold almost instantly.

And then I started to dream.

I was back in the woods, walking to my secret pond spot. It was dark outside, but I wasn't scared. I was going to meet someone, but I didn't know who. As I emerged from the forest I came into the clearing near the pond. I saw a dark figure sitting on the log. I kept walking towards it. Then the figure stood and looked at me, I could see his face from the light of the moon. It was the dark mysterious stranger with the electric blue eyes. He looked different somehow. His face was softer, kinder. I kept walking closer to him, a small smile on my face, he reached out to touch my face.

"Olivia," He breathed, his hand on my cheek. I smiled under his gaze, "I love you." He kissed me, and I returned the kiss passionately. Suddenly he had me backed up against a tree. He pulled his lips away from mine before his face changed into the same condescending smirk I had been introduced with earlier that day. Then the dream turned into something else, a nightmare. His facial expression changed into something dangerous, his eyes became dark and his face looked dark and sinister.

I was running, but now I was in the streets of Mystic Falls, during the day. There were more people who looked like the man from before, including Elena and Stefan Salvatore.

"Where are you going Livy?" Elena asked as she grabbed Matt Donovan by his shirt and bit into his neck, he let out a scream as she drained him of his blood. She threw his body to the ground. I stopped running, paralyzed by what I had just seen.

"Lena?" I whispered, she kept walking closer to me. My eyes flickered away from Elena and saw with horror the amount of corpses covering the streets. Bonnie, Kira, Caroline, Simon, Jenna. They were all dead. Suddenly I heard a familiar voice yell, "Liv, help me!" I turned in shock to see Stefan Salvatore with his mouth on Jeremy's neck. He lifted his face and smiled evilly at me, mouth dripping with my brother's blood. All of a sudden the man with the electric blue eyes was standing directly in front of me, he smirked and then opened his mouth to say,

"GOOD MORNING!"

I gasped and fell out of my bed, waking up to Jeremy throwing a fake halloween decoration spider at me.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I exclaimed, staggering to my feet and wiping the drool off my face. I saw Jenna and Elena staring from the doorway, looking bemused. "We're you guys a part of this?" I hissed at them, gesturing to a smug Jeremy. Jenna shrugged with a small smile.

"You were late waking up kiddo, and Jer offered to do the honors."

"You little prick," I pointed at Jeremy. I pushed my finger on his chest. "I'm going to get you back for this. And it'll be a lot better than just a fake spider!" I said menacingly.

"Bring. It. On." Jeremy gestured at me, smirking.

"You guys are so immature." Elena said.

"Shut up Elena." We responded in unison, causing Jeremy to grin at me. I hid a smile.

"This changes nothing." I narrow my eyes at him. "Now everybody get out so I can get dressed." I wave them all out of my room at let out a huge sigh. Another day at Mystic Falls High School.

The first half of the school day went by uneventfully, around lunch time was when shit began to hit the fan. I was walking to the picnic tables outside, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I heard people chanting "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT". Always being down to watch a good fight, I excitedly made my way over to the stoner pit where the ruckus was coming from. My jaw dropped. It was Jeremy and Tyler Lockwood. I could easily guess the reason as Vicki Donovan was not far off. I pushed my way through the crowd, furious.

"Tyler Lockwood you get your hands off my brother!" I said, my voice sounding dangerous.

"Liv I don't need your help," Jeremy said, glaring at me. Tyler just stared at me, we hadn't talked in months.

"Yeah mind your own business," Vicki muttered. I turned on her, my eyes flashing.

"This is your fault, Vicki. I know you're the type of shallow attention seeking girl who enjoys having two guys fight over her, but my brother is way too good for you!"

"Liv, stop!" Jeremy said, "You don't understand the situation."

"What is going on?!" Elena came running at us.

"This dumbass," I said pointing to Jeremy, "Got into a fight with this dumbass," I pointed to Tyler, "Over this dumbass," I waved my hand over to Vicki. Elena gave me a look.

"Jer what is going on with you!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from Vicki and Tyler.

"Can you guys stop interfering in my life?" He said angrily, pulling his arm out of her grasp.

"Relax, Jer." I said, "We're trying to keep you from making a bad choice and getting kicked out of school." He ignored us and stormed away. I sighed, looking to Elena.

"I just want to protect him," Elena said, frustrated. I nodded.

"He's not coping well at all." I responded.

"We'll figure this out later," Elena said, putting her hand on my arm. I nodded. She headed off to class and I headed over to the picnic table where Simon and Kira had just arrived.

"Woah woah," Simon raised an eyebrow at me, "I just heard that you were involved in a fight?"

"My brother and my ex boyfriend." I groaned, rolling my eyes. Kira's eyes widened.

"Tyler?"

"Yeah, they were fighting over Vicki Donovan." I made a face, which Simon mirrored.

"She used to be a nice girl," Kira said softly. I was about to argue, but then I realized she was right. We all grew up together, at town celebrations we would always hang out with Vicki and Matt.

"Not anymore," I said, "Now she does drugs and hooks up with my brother, and he's way too young for her."

"Maybe she's obsessed with you, Liv." Simon winks, "Your brother and your ex boyfriend? Could this be just a coincidence?"

"Ugh," I groan, "I didn't even realize that she's slept with my ex and my brother." I was a little disgusted to say the least.

"That's wrong on so many levels," Kira said, shaking her head.

"So, party tonight?" Simon smirked, "I feel like it's time for a subject change." I nodded in agreement.

"Sure," Kira smiled. They both looked at me. I gulped.

"I guess." I said glumly. Simon clapped his hands together excitedly.

"Yay!"

 **A/N Next chapter is the party in the woods where Vicky gets attacked. If you have any suggestions or thoughts PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW.**


	3. Chapter 3

I sat on the edge of my bed, my short legs dangling sullenly. My face was buried in my hands in frustration. Why the fuck did I agree to go to this stupid party? It was a bonfire located in the middle of the Mystic Falls woods, and everyone from school was going to be there.

Don't get me wrong, I used to love parties. I support underage drinking just as much as the next teenage delinquent. But am I really ready to be around this many people at once? I know myself, and even if I say I'm not going to be drinking, I'm going to end up drinking. Simon and Kira will peer pressure me into transforming into my former party animal that I was before my parents passed away. Was I ready to divulge my sober thoughts during my drunken tirades? I have an annoying habit of word vomit while I'm intoxicated. Especially in front of my peers who I've barely even glanced at in school since the death of my parents, not to mention my stupid-good for nothing-rich-bitch of an ex boyfriend, Tyler Lockwood? My phone went off, revealing a text from Kira. I didn't even have to open it to know that she was asking if I'd be ready soon. She was picking me up, as she was the only one out of our trio who had a drivers license. Unfortunately for Kira and Simon, who were undoubtedly extremely excited and all dolled up and ready for the occasion, I Olivia Gilbert, their damaged and overly anxious friend, was in the process of overthinking myself into a mental breakdown.

When my parents were alive, they had never let me, Elena, or Jeremy go to parties. What self respecting and responsible parents would let three teenagers go galavanting into the woods at night all boozed up? So whenever me Kira, and Simon decided to attend a party, they would help me come up with this deep elaborate plan to sneak out of the house somehow and manage to make it back into my bed by morning, avoiding all punishments. I think the rents knew what was really up though, because dad would always give me or my siblings one of his quirky smiles at the breakfast table the next morning after a night out, his eyes sparkling mischievously as if he had an inkling we had went out, and Mom would just smirk at us if any of us were in bed "sick" on Saturday orSunday morning.

I sighed and hopped off my bed, peering into the mirror. My eyes looked vibrant and sparkling in old pictures, the way dad's were. But now they just looked sunken and sad, no matter how much I laughed and carried on with my life. I ran my hands through my medium blond hair, which hung in waves at my shoulders, before deciding to go downstairs and ask Jenna for advice.

Jenna was always excited to prove herself an adequate parental guardian, so I knew she'd be happy to give me some advice. Although I didn't know how helpful her advice would prove to be.

"Aunt Jenna," I called hesitantly down the stairs as I slinked down them.

"What's up, Liv?" She replied from the kitchen. I took a deep breath.

"Well I was hoping you could give me some, uh, advice?" I walked into the kitchen, feeling slightly humiliated. Asking for help is not my strong suit.

"If course kiddo," Jenna grinned, "what's up?"

"So I'm supposed to be going to this party-" I began,

"Party huh? That's cool that's cool," Jenna sat back in her chair lazily and assumed a position that I'm sure she considered "cool", in which she had her arms up around on the back of the chair and was slouching indifferently.

"Uh, yeah." I refrained from rolling my eyes at my favorite aunt and guardian. "So anyways, I don't know if I wanna go." I said bluntly.

Jenna furrowed her brow, thinking. "Why not? I think a party would be good for you Liv. Enjoy being young, it's been awhile since you've let loose." She contemplated a minute.

"I don't know, I'm just nervous I'm gonna turn into a drunken wreck in front of everyone about mom and dad." I said a little cautiously, Jenna was cool, but I wasn't exactly sure how she'd react to me openly admitting to possibly getting hammered.

She looked unsurprised. "Well Liv," she sighed, "Your friends will understand if something like that does happen, but it's been awhile since you got out of the house and enjoyed life as a teenager. Go have fun with your friends, it'll make you feel better. It'll take your mind off things."

I bit my lip, Jenna was right. If I didn't go hang out with Simon and Kira and have fun, I'd spend this Friday night just like every other Friday night, alone in my room sulking. It was time to get back to being myself.

"Thanks Jenna," I mumbled appreciatively, just as the doorbell rang. She winked at me, and then began to text someone with a dopey smile on her face (suspicious). I swore under my breath as the doorbell was rang repeatedly. That would be Kira and Simon coming to get me. They were going to kill me for not being ready. Well, at least Simon was.

I opened the door sheepishly. Simon gave me the once over and scowled. "Olivia Elizabeth Gilbert," he pointed to the stairs threateningly, causing me and Kira to snicker and roll our eyes, but we both galloped up the stairs so that I could make myself presentable.

I ended up getting a "Simon Style" makeover. Which Kira sat on my bed and watched with an apologetic expression. When Simon was done working his magic on my hair and makeup at my vanity, he took a step back to admire his work. I took this time to look at my appearance in the mirror. The color of my green eyes stood out edgily from the smokey eye he had decided to give me using my pallet of eyeshadows, and my eyeliner was slick and winged on each eye. My lips, which were already plump and full, were lined and colored with a daring red, which although a little standoffish, I had to admit it looked sexy. My extremely pale skin, which normally I thought was unattractive, was set off with a soft light blush. I fluffed my hair a little, which Simon had curled into stronger more defined waves then my natural ones. Normally I would describe my appearance as pretty plain, besides my eyes which I generally was fond of, but tonight I had to say, I almost looked as good as Elena. Almost.

Simon was pondering as if he had forgotten something. Kira sighed and beckoned towards me.

"Her outfit, Simon." She cocked an eyebrow, causing him to snap his fingers in recognition and dash to my closet and start throwing my clothes around. After five different outfit changes, Simon and Kira deemed me going out worthy. I was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans that were slightly high waisted and had stylishly placed rips, and a maroon crop top sweater which showed off my belly button piercing that Kira and I had gotten done together last summer, and a pair of black converse.

The three of us bounded down the stairs and out the door, each giving a quick wave to Jenna who was standing in the kitchen smiling. She called out something that sounded like "Be safe!" As we slammed the door and climbed into Kira's car.

I sat in the back because Simon called shotgun. I rested my head against the window and smiled slightly as Kira turned up the radio until it was so loud the car shook as Simon sang Britney Spears sassily. I had missed my friends. I should've reached out to them after my parents died. I had ignored them since the funeral until I came back to school.

In a few minutes, because mystic falls isn't very big, we reached the backroad that led to the bonfire. Simon took a swig from a flask that he pulled out of his bag and then passed it to me.

"To take the edge off," he winked. I grinned and took a gulp, wincing as the cheap liquor burned my throat. It was a familiar burn however, one that I welcomed and realized I had missed quite a bit. Perhaps I wouldn't even need to be peer pressured tonight. I took another gulp before handing it back to him as Kira parked where all the other teenagers cars were. I could hear the laughing and chattering of all my classmates. I gulped. "Can I have another shot?" I asked Simon. He glared at me, "Go get some beer from the keg, Liv. You know I hate beer that's why I brought this!" I rolled my eyes at him, "bitch," I muttered under my breath. I managed to convince him to give me another shot anyways before we made our way over to everyone, the woods getting darker with every step it seemed.

It wasn't long before Simon wandered off to flirt with some guy on the swim team, so me and Kira each grabbed a drink and went to sit over by the fire.

We sat together under Kira's blanket, laughing and gossiping, like old times. Caroline is throwing herself at the new guy, Stefan. I glance around me, looking for Elena. Kira smirks.

"Poor Caroline," she sighs, "It's obvious he's not interested." I nod in agreement feeling slight pity for the pretty blond cheerleader. Stefan kept sneaking glances off to his left while Caroline conversed him, I followed his line of vision to see my sister, standing by the keg with Bonnie.

"He keeps staring at Elena," I grin, rolling my eyes and also feeling a bit bitter. My sister was the epitome of gorgeous and every guy wanted her.

"Indeed," Kira smiled lightly back at me before checking out Stefan again and sighing. "He is such a looker," she murmured, "If only I had a chance." I glowered at her.

"Of course you have a chance, Kir," I said, even though I wasn't altogether sure that was true by the way the boy was staring at my sister, who appeared to be staring at him in the same fashion. Kira raised her eyebrows at me, smirking. "Okay, maybe he's a little too smitten with my sister to notice anyone else," I laughed and patted her shoulder. I look over her shoulder and notice Matt Donavan checking Kira out, she did look pretty great tonight. He caught my eye and blushed before going to get another drink. "Although," I wiggled my eyebrows at her, "another good looking boy seems to be checking you out." I gestured towards Matt, whose back is turned. Kira scoffed at me.

"Everyone knows Matt is hung up on Elena, Liv." She said giving me a little push on the arm. I grinned back at her and shrugged.

"Everyone's hung up on Elena," I brushed off the statement, "but I swear, Matt was checking you out." Kira blushed and looked over at him.

"I'm not interested, Caroline." I heard Stefan's low voice say bluntly. Kira and I whipped towards the scene. Simon who was approaching us looked on with glee, enjoying his arch nemesis Caroline Forbes being rejected.

"W-What?" Caroline stammered, in shock. Stefan repeated himself again in the same tone before excusing himself from the conversation and leaving the scene, probably going to look for Elena. Caroline watched him walk away, I could tell she was disappointed and embarrassed. I felt bad for her. Kira and I shared a sympathetic look while Simon giggled shamelessly. I elbowed him in the side as he sat down next me. Did he even have a soul? He glared at me because my elbow in his side made him spit up some of his drink. I snickered. Unfortunately, Caroline heard the noise and her neck snapped towards me.

"What are you laughing at, Olivia?" She spat my name out angrily. I sighed and didn't reply, instead I finished my drink and stood.

"Probably at your hilarious rejection, Forbes!" Simon said gleefully, "I guess you aren't as hot as you think you are."

I turn to Kira, "I'm gonna get another drink, I'll be back." I leave the fire, which I'm sure is going to turn into a stomping ground between Simon and Caroline. I made my way to the keg and began to fill up my red cup, replying to many greetings from my classmates.

I felt someone's hand on my asscheek as I was filling my cup. I whipped around, fuming, to face Tyler Lockwood. Who was evidently hammered, as he saw it totally acceptable to touch my ass when his jealous "girlfriend" of sorts was watching us angrily from twenty feet away. Vicky was giving me the dirtiest look imaginable. I slapped Tyler's hand away and hissed, "What the fuck are you doing?" Causing those around the keg to turn and look at us. Tyler didn't seem to notice.

"Just came over to talk," he slurred, as one of his arms reached out and awkwardly pulled me towards him. I squirmed out of from under it, irritably.

"I don't want to talk to you Tyler. We aren't friends." I turn away and resume filling my cup. He didn't leave as I had anticipated, instead he just stood behind me, drunkenly pondering.

"Look, Liv, Livia, Big O," he began, his voice slightly louder than those around us, causing all the gossip hounds to raise their ears to the conversation.

"Will you shut up," I groaned, "Tyler Lockwood, I don't like you. Go away." I gave him a slight push in the direction opposite me. He grabbed both my hands and pulled me to him. I gagged internally and tried to push him off me.

"Let's go," he tilted his head towards the woods, using what I assumed he had perceived as a "sexy tone". It was clear what he was implicating. I whipped my hand away from him and grabbed my drink before swiftly throwing it in his face. There was laughter all around us as the beer dripped off Tyler's horrified face "What the fuck!" He yelled raising his hand as if to hit me, but just then Stefan Salvatore appeared. He grabbed Tyler's arm and twisted it, causing him to yelp out in pain.

"Don't you touch her." Stefan said, his tone dangerous. Onlookers watched with shock. Tyler managed to get out of Stefan's grasp and glared at him.

"I would never touch her, you asshole! I love her!" He bellowed beckoning at me drunkenly I slap my hand on my face in horror and embarrassment. The giggling around us resumes.

I skipped the beer and grabbed what looked like half a bottle of liquor from a tree stump and met Elena's disapproving eye. She approached me.

"What the hell happened with Tyler?" She raised her eyebrows, "I left Stefan to go talk to Bonnie for a bit and next think I know he's assaulting Tyler for harassing you?" I stared at her blankly before taking a swig of the bottle. She glowered at me.

"Well, Elena, that's pretty much what happened. Sounds like you got the gist of It." She opened her mouth to object but I cut her off, "Anyways, I'm gonna go see if I can find Jer, if he's here." She looked like she was going to object but then nodded in agreement.

"Good idea, he worries me. Should I come with you?" She asked me, sincerely.

"No, no." I waved at her dismissively, "Go have fun with Stefan!" Speaking of Stefan, the guy began to walk towards us.

"Thank you," I said earnestly as he approached us.

"No problem, Olivia." He said smiling, "Tyler Lockwood's a real piece of work." He scowled a bit. I nod in agreement.

"Take good care of my sister," I grinned, "she's a feisty one." Elena smirked at me and rolled her eyes a bit.

"See you at home," she said to me as I walked in the direction of the woods where I knew the stoners all went and hung out. That was the first place I assumed Jeremy would be hiding out. I took another gulp of the liquor and climbed over a few rocks, stumbling slightly. Sure enough, Jeremy and the other stoners sit in a circle passing a joint around. He sees me and looks a little nervous, but I wave to him smiling slightly.

"Come over here Liv!" He cleared a spot next to him on the rocks. "Hey guys, this is my sister, I'm sure you all know of her, Olivia Gilbert." I was then introduced to about twelve different people, one of them being Vicki Donavon, who was glaring at me. Awkward. I was then passed a joint. Would I be a bad influence on Jeremy if I smoked this? The liquor was telling me it was fine, I took a drag of the joint before passing it-guiltily-to Jeremy. He took a hit and then gave me a surprised smile. "You smoke, Liv?"

"Occasionally," I muttered, reluctantly, "Only on occasions." I hung out with Jer and his friends for a bit, laughing a little too much at a little too little and passing around a bag of cheese doodles. Elena would kill me if she knew I was indulging Jeremy's habit of smoking weed. Tonight had been a little stressful, so I really benefited from the calming effect. I stood up after awhile. "Well I'm gonna go back to the fire, call me if you need anything Jer." I gave him a pat on the shoulder before standing up. I took another swig and made my way back towards where I thought the fire was. I barely got a few feet away before I heard Vicki's voice say, "I'm going to go find Tyler." as she also left the circle of stoners. She caught up to me, to my chagrin, and "accidentally" knocked her shoulder against mine.

"Listen, Gilbert." She hissed at me, once she was sure we were far enough away from the others not to hear. "You and Tyler might've had a thing in the past-"

I laughed, catching her off guard, "Listen, Vic," she narrowed her eyes at the nickname, "I'm not interested in your precious douchebag Tyler. Not one bit. He repulses me, to be honest. And if you're staying away from my brother, I'm happy. So get the fuck away from me." She let out a noise like a strangled cat and went to swat at my face but I jumped out of the way and she tripped on a tree root. I snickered and stumbled away. "Later Vic," I rolled my eyes.

I was pretty drunk. And stoned. And I couldn't find my cellphone. So finding my way back to the path towards the fire was a pretty significant problem. I sat down after finding myself at the same tree stump three times in a row. I must've been going in circles. I took another gulp of my liquor, which was starting to run out, and groaned.

"Oh look, a drunk damsel in distress." A slightly familiar voice drawled. I turned around, happy that at least I wasn't alone in the woods. But my delight soon turned to slight discomfort when I realized it was the handsome stranger from the other day, with the electric blue eyes. My drunkenness got the better of me.

"Who even are you?" I asked, confused and slightly irritated. The stranger laughed, the sound was beautiful but gave me a slight urge to run.

"My names Damon." He gave me a slight bow and offered me his hand. I felt the urge to reach out and touch it but my instinct to not get any closer to this man than I already was won over my curiously. I was tempted to ask his last name but held my tongue. I stared at his hand and then raised my eyebrows at him. He seemed to find it funny. He laughed his charming laugh again.

"And you're Olivia Gilbert," he raised one eyebrow as if expecting me to be surprised.

"Well duh. I told you that just the other day," I rolled my eyes. Damon's jaw dropped for second but closed before I could register that it had actually happened.

"Excuse me?" He said, shock and a slightly angry tone to his voice.

"Have you come to pester me about Elena?" I sighed, "If so you're shit out of luck, dude. She's off galavanting with another handsome man named Stefan." Damon's face was blank and unreadable. I continued to babble. "Now, Damon. I know you must be heartbroken, but I assure you, you'll find someone someday." I decided to throw in another sarcastic line, just to test out his sense of humor, "even with a face like that." I finished somberly. He didn't speak for a second, and just continued to stare blankly.

"Interesting." Damon said. His mouth turning up into a slight smile. "What else do you remember from when we met, Olive?" He said. I flinched at the nickname. It was what my parents used to call me. He noticed the effect he had produced and smirked.

"That you tried to hypnotize me and then disappeared. Frankly I thought you could quite possibly be my imagination. I guess that's still possible." I said bluntly, taking the last gulp from my nearly empty bottle, before throwing it onto the forest floor. "You're kind of a nutcase, Damon. It's a good thing you're attractive. I don't know how else you'd make it in this crazy world." I sighed dramatically and leaned back on the stump. Unfortunately, I completely lost my balance and fell off the stump and landed flat on my back. I groaned in pain.

Suddenly I was off the ground and felt like I was flying. I squinted and looked up. Damon's face was too close to mine. It made me uncomfortable. I squirmed slightly in his arms, as he was carrying me bride style through the forest. "I think you've drank way too much. And you smell horribly like marijuana." He crinkled his nose.

"Put me down, you crackpot." I said indignantly, although my body made no attempts to move. He smirked.

"How about I just take you back to that bonfire with all the other little kiddies. You never know what's in the woods this late." He raised an eyebrow at me, "serial killers, wild animals," he laughed before continuing, "vampires," I roll my eyes at him.

"Crackpot," I repeat. I closed my eyes slightly, "Ugh I feel sick." I groaned burying my face in Damon's chest.

"If you puke I will kill you." He said, his voice menacing. I believed him, one hundred percent, so I stopped complaining and focused on not getting sick.

In what felt like seconds I was set back down on my feet. "Just keep walking straight, Olive. You can't miss it." Damon's voice was in my ear. I turned to thank him but he was gone again. I scratched my head. Was Damon part of my imagination? Was I crazy? If he wasn't real I had definitely spent the last however long talking to myself.

I pushed everything Damon related to the back of my mind and followed the directions I had been given. Sure enough, soon I was stumbling into the clearing where everyone was gathered around the fire. The number of people had dwindled, although there was still a ton of people there. Kira and Simon took in my appearance, which I'm sure was comical, with relief.

"Olivia you bitch!" Simon threw his arms around me drunkenly, "Where did you go? We were just about to call Elena and set her off on you." I shivered at the thought.

"Well I'm glad you didn't." I laughed.

"You smell like weed." Kira said with a slight smirk.

"I was with Jeremy." I brushed off her comment. They both nodded in understanding, giggling slightly. Kira, who had only had one drink since the beginning of the night was ready to go, and I was happy to oblige. My bed was calling. And perhaps my trashcan. My stomach was still extremely queasy. Simon on the other hand pitched a fit about leaving ("but I'm having so much fun, you bitches!"), but we managed to trick him into the car by telling him we'd stop at the grill for food. Considering it wasn't too late yet, Kira did stop at the grill, to my chagrin. I just wanted to go home. I felt like puking. Even more so when I saw Simon eating a cheeseburger like a wild animal.

Finally, Kira was able to drop me off at home. I stumbled up the driveway and into the living room to find Jenna asleep on the coach. She had waited up for us. That was sweet of her. It seemed I was the first one home. I ran up the stairs and settled down next to the toilet, preparing for the vomit that was to come.

Suddenly I heard a bunch of slamming and yelling downstairs. Jeremy and Elena were home.

Soon Elena opened the door to the bathroom, I was about to yell at her to get out, but then I saw how white her face was.

"Something happened to Vicki."

AN: We all know of the "back to school bonfire" from the first episode, this is my idea of Liv's experience. Sorry about the long wait to anyone who has been looking forward to this story, I'm out of school right now and don't have Internet besides on my phone because I live in the woods. So I've been writing this on my phone in my notes section. Thank you all for reading and PLEASE REVIEW, I would love the feedback!


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